The burrito chain has long pushed sustainable food in its 1,400 restaurants. Now Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is broadening its message by selling organic cotton hoodies, hosting festivals selling locavore fare and backing a dark comedy video series centered on an evil PR guy hired to defend industrial farming.

The chain managed meteoric growth for years by largely letting its menu speak for itself. Now rivals such as Yum! Brands' Taco Bell chain are encroaching. Chipotle's revenue growth was projected to slow to 20 percent in 2012 and 15 percent this year, compared with 24 percent in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Unusual move

So Chipotle is creating a lifestyle brand to appeal to consumers who believe in sustainability - an unusual move for a restaurant chain.

"It's new territory for a restaurant brand," said Bill Chidley, senior vice president at consultant Interbrand Design Forum in Dayton, Ohio. "It's ambitious, but I don't think it's implausible that they could become a lifestyle brand."

The new push comes at a time of growing skepticism about Chipotle's future. Of the 30 analysts who follow Chipotle, 73 percent rate the company hold or sell, up from about 52 percent in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Numbers bad news

Chipotle, which was spun off from McDonald's Corp. in 2006, also is trading at a lower premium relative to its peers. During the past three years, the company traded at an average 60 percent premium to Starbucks Corp. on a price-to-earnings basis. Now the premium has slid to 19 percent.

The company's expansion rate also is decelerating.

While other restaurants, including McDonald's and DineEquity's Applebee's, are offering serving healthier menu items and responsibly sourced ingredients, Chipotle is trying to create a brand that consumers want to be identified with.

The idea for the organic line of clothing started more than three years ago when Chief Marketing Officer Mark Crumpacker realized that employees' uniforms needed a revamp.

Tim Wildin, Chipotle's concept development director, put him in touch with fashion designers at Loomstate, a New York clothing maker that uses organic cotton and shared the chain's vision for sustainably sourced materials.

The new uniforms were introduced to stores in 2011, and last year a consumer line with U.S.-made hoodies, T-shirts and canvas totes began selling on Chipotle's website, including a black, zip-up hoodie, made with pesticide and chemical-free cotton, for $65.

Accessories possible

What's next for Loomstate and Chipotle? Kitchen accessories - reclaimed-wood cutting boards, spoons and bowls - are a possibility, Hahn said. And there's the potential to sell Chipotle T-shirts and hoodies in retail stores such as Target, Crumpacker said.

Another Chipotle endeavor: its Cultivate festivals, where the restaurant brings in bands, craft-beer brewers and celebrity chefs. The one-day events, where Chipotle food and other organic snacks are for sale, give customers the chance to learn about local and sustainable farming. Last year in Chicago, Chipotle featured G. Love & Special Sauce and chef Paul Kahan, while also showing short films about food sustainability.

Meanwhile, Chipotle's comedy series, "Farmed and Dangerous," which comes out later this year, stars Ray Wise, the "Twin Peaks" and "RoboCop" actor. The show is about a group of people whose job it is to put a positive spin on the most negative aspects of industrial farming.